Sanusi Lamido
Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has said in a webinar that Nepotism is worst form of corruption. In his words,
“The worst form of corruption we have in this country is nepotism; when people get into positions by virtue of personal loyalty, friendship and who they know, rather than what they can actually deliver by virtue of their competence for that office. We need people who can deliver for this country, I mean the majority.”
The dethroned Emir of Kano in a webinar themed, “The Sustainability of Society” spoke about the negative impact of corruption in the Nigerian society. He also said that the incompetence of our leaders has increased the rate of corruption.
He also encouraged the promotion of efficiency and a reduction in the cost of governance in Nigeria.
Sanusi Lamido said;
“Morally and religiously speaking, corruption is a problem. But let us look at it from the angle of economics and we begin to understand that it is not just the corruption itself but the type of corruption.
“Part of the problem we have is incompetence and that is why I keep saying we must pay attention to merit. We have a system called Federal Character and I believe we should have Nigerians from all over the country in public office, but all those Nigerians must be people that are competent. There must be a merit test; a competence test.
He emphasized that so long as positions are not given based on merit and accountability is not brought to play, the country won’t move forward. According to Sanusi ‘I think the root of corruption is when we begin to de-emphasise merit, competence and performance…’